04 Feb 2021

Sekab Invests in the Future

Green, domestic production of fuel is necessary according to Sekab, a company located in Örnsköldsvik in the north of Sweden. Sekab would like to take the lead in the production. A new global collaboration will lead to a commercial facility in Örnsköldsvik with green chemicals, such as softwood as raw material.

- We have the innovations and have been proactive in the technological development. We are now equipped to take the next step, says Monika Normark, CTO at Sekab.

Since 2004, Sekab has purposefully worked to pre-treat residual products from the forest through continuous operation at the demo facility in Örnsköldsvik. The technology platform CelluAPP makes it possible to refine almost all forms of biomass into environmentally friendly and commercial chemical products, biogas and lignin. The technology uses softwood products from the forest, which today are not used to their full potential. This is something that Sekab wants to change and develop further. 

As a part of this, Sekab has entered a collaboration with Indian Praj Industries, which operates in over 75 countries and has extensive experience of building ethanol plants based on agricultural residues. The collaboration is based on scaling up, integrating and optimizing the existing technology platform CelluAPP, which Sekab has developed. 

Wide Range of Usage

- This is a very important step for us and for the continued transition from fossil materials to sustainable biofuels and chemical products.  Praj is one of the world's hottest bioethanol companies and as a partner we will be able to scale up our business so that it will be economically advantageous products to bring to market. We cannot afford to just leave the softwood residues available, says Monica.

CelluAPP takes residual products from the forest, such as sawdust, and processes them into green raw materials such as forest sugar, ethanol and lignin. These can in turn be products that contributes to decreasing the climate change: everything from biofuels to asphalt and medicines. The technology has been developed and tested in Sekab's demonstration plant and is now ready for use on a large scale.

From 2 to 800 Tonnes

Together, Sekab and Praj will investigate the possibilities through a feasibility study with the aim of building a larger factory in Örnsköldsvik where their own technology will be used to create green chemicals from the forest. 

- With the existing plant, we can produce two tonnes dry per day and with that we are counted as the largest demo plant i northern Europe, but the next step is 800 tonnes per day. There is a logic in that we work with a parther who has already made this journey and has experience of building factories with large capacity. Together, we can achieve something significant and create a platform to give the market greater volumes. Without volues, development will not move forward, says Monica.

Seeking EU Funding

It will require between SEK 50-80 million in a feasibility study that is expected to be completed in the autumn of 2022 to reach a precise conclusion, Monica estimates. The feasibility study will provide answers to possible partners, financing and location. Therefore, Sekab has turned to the European Innovation Fund and applied for investment support. 

- Investing in hardware and solutions that are sustainable also in the future is a difficult balancing act. It is always a challenge and you want to have a partner who is involved and shares the risk. Innovation Fund is one thing, but we still feel that we must move forward. The time is now and the demand for green products is only increasing and this can help strengthen our position as a leading player, says Monica.